La Feria del Chile (The Chile Fair) in Queréndaro, Michoacán

In Queréndaro, Michoacán, daily work is all about locally grown chiles chilaca.We fell in love with these wee ballet folklórico performers, children no more than four years old.

For the last seven years, just around the late July-early August harvest time, the town of Queréndaro, Michoacán, has celebrated the Feria del Chile (chile fair).  The center of town fills with rides for children, booths specializing in all sorts of food, games of chance, a big stage for daily ballet folklórico and nightly music, and all the usual whoopdedoo of fiesta time.  The star of the fiestas is, of course, the chile chilaca.

About 3 thousand acres of chile chilaca are planted in the central Mexican states of Aguascalientes, Jalisco, Guanajuato, Zacatecas and Michoacán.  Many of the residents of Queréndaro, Michoacán commercially cultivate this particular chile. 

All work and no play is no good, though.  This sign on a Queréndaro grocer's door says, "Beer and wine for the road".

These chiles chilaca matured to their ripe, deep-red color before harvest.

The chile chilaca also has other names such as negro (black), prieto (dark), or, particularly here in Michoacán, chile para deshebrar (chile to tear in small strips). High quality chilaca is long, slender and undulated. Each chile can measure a foot long.  Before its fully-ripe state the chilaca is inky blue-green, with color and flavor similar to the chile poblano.  Here in Michoacán, where there are at least two names for every growing thing, the fresh chile chilaca is coloquially known as the cuernillo (little horn).  

Most of the locally grown deep-red chiles chilaca are dried in the sun.  These are spread out along a main street in Queréndaro.  The chiles are drying on petates, mats made of woven lake reed.

The chilaca turns dark reddish-brown when it's allowed to ripen on the bush.  When ripe and then dried in the Queréndaro sun, the chilaca becomes very dark red and is called chile pasilla.  If the seeds are removed from the dried chile, its name is chile capón.  Chiles capones literally means 'castrated' chiles.  This vegetable castration refers to the removal of the seeds prior to cooking.

Some chilacas are sold bottled, either en escabeche (pickled in vinegar) or as chiles capones (dried, seeded, soaked, toasted, and then cooked with onion), to be used as a botana or condimento (appetizer or condiment). 

These are chiles chilaca rellenos--chiles capones stuffed with tomates verdes (tomatillos), onion, and garlic.  The chiles in the photo, prepared for carry-out at the Alberto Gómez family booth , still needed to be topped with shredded Oaxaca cheese.

The Barajas family of Queréndaro offered this variety of freshly harvested chiles at their booth at the Feria del Chile.  Clockwise beginning with the dark green chiles at the bottom of the basket, they are:

• chiles poblano............14 pesos per kilo
• chiles güero...............14 pesos per kilo
• chiles chilaca verde......12 pesos per kilo
• chiles cola de rata........50 pesos per kilo (for dry chiles; the booth was out of fresh)
• chiles poblano rojo.......14 pesos per kilo

Mexico Cooks! bought a kilo of fresh mature (red) chiles chilaca.  We've been preparing them in various dishes.  The flavor they add is deeply sweet and deadly hot.  So far, our favorite recipe is with potatoes, onions, and flor de calabaza (squash blossoms).  Here's what to do:

Papas con Flor de Calabaza y Chile

Ingredients
3 large white potatoes, russets if you can get them
1 medium white onion
2 fresh mature chiles chilaca
1 large clove garlic
2 bunches fresh flor de calabaza (squash blossoms)
Flour
Vegetable oil or freshly rendered lard
Water
Sea salt

Utensils
Large pot
Colander
Griddle
Small plastic bag
Large plastic bag
Large sauté pan
Spatula

Procedure
Peel and cube (approximately 3/4") the potatoes.  Bring salted water to boil in a pot large enough for them.  Boil the potatoes until tender (approximately 15 minutes) and strain.  Allow the potatoes to dry for 30 minutes or more.

Wash and rough-chop the squash blossoms.  Discard their stems.

Dice the onion to approximately 1/2".  Mince the garlic.

Heat the dry griddle and roast the chiles until they are blackened.  Put them in the small plastic bag, twist it closed, and allow the chiles to "sweat" for about 10 minutes.  Peel and seed.  Slice the chiles in 1/2" rounds.

Heat the oil or lard in the sauté pan.  While it heats, put approximately 1/2 cup flour and a teaspoon of sea salt into the large plastic bag.  Add the potatoes to the bag and shake until the potatoes are dredged with flour and salt.

Sauté the onions, garlic, and chiles.  Add the potatoes and continue to sauté until the potatoes are golden brown.  Add the squash blossoms and sauté briefly--the blossoms will wilt.  Add sea salt to taste.

Serves 3 or 4 as a side dish.

¡Provecho!

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Comments

[James Ashe]

My wife is from Querendaro.We go there every year for the chile festival.A beautiful place with wonderful people

[eloy cortez]

Hasta ahora lo mejor q. he visto yo diria muy profecional felicidades cristina. la feria del chie tolmada d. la mano deel 15 d. agosto fiesta de la virjen las mejores fechas para visitar querendaro hermoso la tierra d. dios donde c. acuesta uno y amanecen dos.

[victor m glez]

saludos a la raza de querendaro mich les saluda su amigo monkiki pasen la chido en la feria del chile no tomen tanto mescal a pero coman mucho chile saludos

[jorge]

saludos para toda la jente de querendaro michoacan mi nombre es raul soto de el real de otzumatlan.

[Diazafamily]

I'm also from Querendaro and I love that someone has this great site. I love to see more pictures. Especially from the jardin. Proud to have grown up in that area:)

[carmen]

Gracias por el portal ojala pudieran poner mas fotos yo tambien soy de Querendaro saludos para todo los de alla

[jazmin g]

I am very happy that querendaro have the real web page and all people can know the we exist and we are very producted people . jazz.

[Nick Matyas]

it's a nice posting, i like it, thank you for this kind of posting,
this is a real good page.

[Anais]

La feria del chile rocks q linda es especialmente the gente y ojala i will go to visit all my friends in querendaro

[Anais]

Saludos a todos los d querendaro especialmente para jorge luis rodriguez,el peque y para lupe y tere garcia

[bath mate]

very good posting. thank you. :)

[bath mate]

good posting.i like it. thank u. :)-

[Zamudio]

I from Querendaro, Michoacan. I live now in LA and
I am very happy to see this pictures and this pictures make me think in that delicious chilacas con crema and the chiles capones thank you for writing about my lovely Querendaro and about La feria del chile. I invite everybody to go and enjoy La feria del Chile. I promese you, you going to have a very good experience and alot of fun.

[star trek voyager]

I love your blog so much, and there are just some differences with others'. Hope there will be more wonderful things in your blog. Happy every day! http://www.star-trek-dvd.com/star_trek/Voyager/index.html

[crispy]

OH! Do those chiles look delicious!

Thanks so much for the recipe. It's definitely something I'm going to have to try out...if I can find chiles chilaca here in Guadalajara. So many places have only the usual suspects. :(

[Steven Miller]

Wow, great photo of the wee ballet folklórico kids. Very nice! - Steve, from Ajijic

[limelate]

Oh yummy! Green chilacas began showing up here (N Ca) about a year ago which made me happy as they are probably my favorite. Your photos, as usual, are great. Lately I've been fooling around a lot with stuffed dried chiles of all types (toasted, seeded, marinated, stuffed) and these look amazing. Gonna try, right now.
Thanks Cristina, a beautiful work,
Limelate

[gloria]

Wow, those chiles are definitely my cup of tea. I have to backtrack and read the recipe, but wow, the color is beautiful. Thank you.

[Bob Mrotek]

Cristina,
This is a great post! You have a wonderful way of explaining things with both words and colors. I was halfway through reading the recipe and I decided that I must try it. I showed it to my wife and she agreed. I will let you know how it turned out. Right now I must go to the market for my flor de calabaza :)